Fifth Time's the Charm
by missindy08
Summary: This is the story of four times Tony Stark and Pepper Potts don't kiss...and the one time they do. CHAP 5 - Tony and Pepper have a long night and a good morning.
1. the first time

Title: The First Time

Word Count: 2,328

Pairing: Tony/Pepper (eventually)

Disclaimer: I don't own Iron Man; that luxury belongs to Marvel. I don't own Tony and Pepper; that luxury belongs to Stan Lee. I don't even own the name Nolita; that luxury belongs to the creators of the too-early-cancelled tv show _Kitchen Confidential_.

Story Summary: This will be a five chapter series of one-shots detailing the four times Tony and Pepper don't kiss. And the one time they did.

Chapter Summary: Tony manages to surprise Pepper on her birthday.

A/N: This is my first foray into Iron Man fan fiction, and only my third attempt to write anything ever. This has been done before in just about every fandom I have ever read. But, it's one of my favorite types of stories, so I'm going to try my hand at it. I'm still really rusty, and although I am one of the most sarcastic people you will ever meet, writing Tony didn't come out as well as I had hoped. Hopefully, you'll deal with it and like the story anyway. :)

* * *

Pepper walked down the stairs to Tony Stark's basement lab with a purpose, her heels clicking along in their usual, quick manner. It had been a long day, and all she wanted to do was leave. She just wanted to go home, take a shower, and relax before meeting her parents for dinner. But of course, there was still more that needed to be done.

She turned the music down in the shop as she entered, knowing that it was the only foolproof way to get Mr. Stark's attention. And, sure enough…

"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't. Turn off. My tunes."

Pepper took a quick glance around the lab, but could not see her boss anywhere. Assuming from the muffled tone of his voice, he was working on his hot rod, she spoke in that direction.

"My apologies sir, but we have a couple more things to go over before I leave this evening."

Tony wheeled out from under the car. He stood up, wiped his hands on an already greasy rag, and walked toward her, an expectant look on his face. She caught the look, but ignored it, focusing instead on the Blackberry in her hand.

"Rhodes needs to know when you can get to the base tomorrow."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'll get there when I get there. God, that man can be such a woman sometimes."

Pepper tried to stifle a smile as she typed a more P.C. version of his answer into her Blackberry. "Also, the board wants to review your speech for the gala tomorrow night."

Tony was messing with something on his desk at this point, but his head snapped up with her comment. "Are you serious?"

"Apparently, they don't trust you to say the right thing." Pepper gave a wry smile at this. "Can't imagine why."

"Don't they know I'll just say whatever I damn well please once I get up there."

"I did try to tell them that. They seem to think they have some kind of control over you."

"Yeah, well, we both know that's not true."

"Yes sir, but please just send it to them in the morning. It takes almost no effort and it gets them off your back, and mine."

"Fine. But hey, you never know…you might like one of them on your back."

"And on that note…I need nothing else from you, so I will get out of your way."

Pepper turned toward the door. "See you tomorrow, Mr.—"

Tony reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her back towards him. "Hey, what's with the bum's rush? Usually, _I'm_ the one kicking _you_ out of here."

"Well, sir. I have plans tonight." Pepper removed his hand from her arm.

"I believe I told you don't like it when you have plans."

"Well, Mr. Stark, as we ascertained last year, I am allowed to have plans on my birthday."

"Your birthday? Already?" Pepper noticed he at least tried to look abashed that he had forgotten.

"Same time every year, also ascertained last year."

"Well, forgive me, but I did spend a quarter of this year in a cave in Afghanistan and then I became the greatest super hero ever. I've been a little busy."

"Fine…I'll let it go. But just this year. And it's not like my plans are much. I'm just meeting my parents for dinner; it's been awhile since I've seen them."

"Oh." Tony gave her a response, but, he had found the part on his desk she assumed he was looking for and had lost interest in their conversation. He sat back down on the creeper and looked up at Pepper before laying back down.

"Well, have a good time. And try not to get too wasted. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Pepper rolled her eyes at his direction. As _if he has any room to talk._ "Yes sir. Have a good evening, Mr. Stark."

And his attention was gone. She was answered with the sound of tinkering and a grunt from under the car. She walked out of the lab, and heard Black Rebel Motorcycle Club blaring through the speakers as she left.

As soon as he knew she was gone, Tony rolled back out from under the car, a small smile playing on his face.

* * *

Pepper got home in record time. This gave her enough time to sit and relax before starting to get ready for her dinner. She shook her head and smiled when her thoughts drifted to Tony. She was strong enough to admit that he was very good looking. And he got even better looking when he was being snarky. Not that it mattered. He didn't have relationships, and she didn't have one night stands.

Pepper allowed herself a few more thoughts about her boss – it _was_ her birthday after all – and then got up and took a shower. Just as she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard a knock on the door of her apartment. She grabbed her long, white robe and wrapped it tightly around her as she ran to answer the door.

"Delivery for Pepper Potts."

"That's me," she said, signing the sheet on the clipboard and taking the box from the man's hands.

"Have a good night, ma'am."

"You too," Pepper said while shutting the door behind her. She couldn't think of what might be in the box. She didn't remember ordering anything.

She opened the box, and saw something wrapped in tissue with a note addressed to her on top. As she opened the note, she saw a hint of green peek out from under the tissue.

_Miss Potts,_

_Here is this year's birthday gift to you. I assume you already bought something for yourself, hopefully something as hot as that number from last year._

_But just in case you haven't, I took it upon myself to get you something to wear for the dinner with your parents tonight. Now, when people say your boss has good taste, it will actually be true._

_Have a good evening, and happy birthday._

_Tony_

Pepper laid down the note and carefully opened the tissue paper, marveling over how fast he found a dress and got it to her; she had only left his home 2 hours ago.

She took the dress out of the box and held it in front of her. She had to hand it to him; he did have good taste. The color was a gorgeous forest green. It was sleeveless, and cut low but not too revealing. It looked like it would hit her just below her knees. The feel of the soft, smooth fabric felt wonderful between her fingers, and she couldn't wait to put it on.

Half an hour later, Pepper was fully clothed and made up, and she couldn't help but stare at herself in the mirror just a little bit longer than normal. She could admit to herself that she looked beautiful tonight. She briefly contemplated taking a picture for Tony, so he could see the dress. But, she figured he had already done enough imagining of her when he bought it. She also figured one of her parents would have a camera handy, and she was already running late.

* * *

After speeding just a bit on the way there, Pepper pulled up to the restaurant just on time. The valet rushed around to the driver's side and opened the door. He gave her hand stepping out of the car, and pulled away to have it parked. Pepper took in the front of the restaurant. She knew that Nolita was one of the hottest restaurants in the city, and was surprised at the lack of people milling around outside. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought the restaurant was closed tonight.

She took a deep breath before heading into the restaurant. She was determined to leave all thoughts of her work, and Tony, behind tonight. She hadn't seen her parents in almost 6 months, and she just wanted to enjoy a nice quiet night.

She crossed the driveway and nodded to the greeter who opened the door for her.

"Good evening, ma'am."

"Hello."

As she walked into the restaurant, she heard someone say "She's Here!" followed by everyone sitting at the tables standing up and yelling "Surprise!"

Pepper was shocked, and she quickly scanned the crowd, taking in the swarm of faces looking at her. Finally, she saw her parents pushing through towards her. She rushed forward and gave them both a hug.

"What is all of this?"

Her dad hugged her tightly. "It's a surprise birthday party, dear. And here I thought you were smart."

"But, you guys didn't have to do all this!"

Her mom smiled sheepishly. "Well, as much as we would like to take the credit, we can't. It was actually your boss, Mr. Stark."

Pepper felt her jaw drop. But he had forgot her birthday…or at least had acted like he had

"Tony?" Pepper felt a small smile pull at sides of her mouth as she scanned the crowd of smiling faces around her.

"He isn't here yet, darling. But there are a lot of other people who I am sure would like to give you their birthday wishes. Go ahead."

Pepper spent the next 40 minutes making the rounds, talking to a number of her coworkers and former classmates. At some point, she noticed Tony walking into the restaurant. Their eyes met almost instantly, but she could not get across the full room to him. He simply nodded to her, and she smiled in return as she turned back to her old college roommate and he shook hands with a business partner.

The night went off beautifully. The dinner was top notch, and Pepper was able to catch up with friends she hadn't spoken to in years. In fact, she was surprised he had even found some of them. She was also surprised at how much talking she could do in one night. By the time the last few stragglers left around midnight, Pepper was exhausted.

Her father reached out and squeezed her hand as she passed him speaking with the chef. She made her way over to one of the couches in the restaurant's waiting area, and sank into the soft leather before slipping her heels off of her tired feet. She stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned her head against the back of the couch. She closed her eyes, enjoying the still quiet.

"Good party."

Pepper's eyes popped open and she turned her head to see Tony walking toward her. It was the first time she had seen him since he walked in that door so many hours ago.

"It was. Thank you."

Tony smiled in response and sat on the couch next to her, loosening his tie before laying his back as well. Pepper shifted in her seat so she was facing him, her legs pulled up on the couch underneath her.

"But why…how?"

Tony smirked and gave her body a once over. "I needed some excuse to get you all dolled up."

"Tony. Seriously."

Tony's face grew serious when she used his first name. She noticed the shift, but didn't comment on it.

"Well, I figured after this last year, I owed you. First, I forget your birthday. Then, I go and get myself blown up and kidnapped, and I'm sure that couldn't have been a picnic for you. And this whole Iron Man thing?" Tony reached over and patted her knee. "You've been through a lot; you deserve it."

Even after her statement, Pepper hadn't expected his answer to be quite so straightforward and, dare she even think it, heartfelt. Their eyes met with a mutual understanding. She allowed herself to be lost in his gaze. She didn't know how long they sat there, just content with each other's company; his hand still resting on her knee and his thumb moving in a small circle.

Pepper felt herself growing more and more comfortable and began to slowly lean closer toward him. She saw his pupils dilate a little, and his hand gripped her knee. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), this extra pressure snapped her out of her fog. She stood up quickly and grabbed her shoes, her eyes looking everywhere but at him.

"Well, thanks again. I will see you bright and early." Pepper started to walk toward the front door.

"You looked stunning tonight by the way."

Pepper started at the sound of his voice and turned back to see Tony looking at her now with his smirk and a little bit of lust thrown in.

"Well, this dress was a gift, you see, so it wasn't really me." Pepper replied, determined to keep her distance.

"Whoever gave it to you has pretty good taste then."

"Normally, his taste is quite horrific, and in more than just women's clothes, but tonight he did a pretty good job."

"Good. Good." Tony rose from his spot on the couch. "And Pepper?"

"Yes, Tony?"

"One more thing." Tony walked closer to her, almost like an animal stalking its prey.

"What is it?" Pepper was getting exasperated now. She was tired, and she was sick of his games.

"You don't need that dress to look hot. All you really need are those shoes…combined with your legs…"

Pepper held up her hand, stopping him before he could continue any further.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?"

Tony just stared at her for a moment, deciding whether or not it was worth continuing. Pepper returned his stare with a glare of her own, and he gave her this round.

"That will be all Miss Potts."

"Then goodnight."

And Pepper walked outside to get her car. Tony followed her to the door, and watched as she tipped the valet and climbed in. He smiled at the memory of her face as she talked with her friends tonight. This was the first time he had done something just for her, and it felt good. Maybe he would have to do this more often.

* * *

And that's the end of the first time Tony and Pepper didn't kiss. I hope you enjoyed it at least a little. I've got outlines for the rest of the chapters, so hopefully I'll get the next one up soon. Thanks for reading, and if you'd like, take a gander at that Go button down there. I've heard it's kinda fun


	2. the second time

**Chapter Title: The second time**

**Pairing: Tony/Pepper (eventually)**

**Words: 1800-ish**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. If I did, I wouldn't be a college graduate sleeping on my parent's couch.**

**A/N: I think I'm gonna try to see how many cliches I can work into this story; that should be super fun. Anyway, here's my second chapter. I'm glad you all liked the first one, and I hope you like this one too, even if it's a bit shorter. I'm not really a fan, but oh well, this is what my muse led me to write.**

**My goal with this story is to basically write 5 one shots, but they will be in chronological order and there will be some more realizations in each of them, so they will form a loose story. They're also going to be mostly Pepper's POV just cause it's easier to write. And now I'll stop rambling and let you get to the story.**

**A/N 2: Here's the second chapter again! Not sure what happened before, but since I caught a couple of typos and stupid spelling errors, I guess it's a good thing it disappeared! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Pepper sighed and rested her elbows on her desk. As she rested her head in her hands, she tried to discern what time it was, but found it impossible. She remembered eating dinner, but only barely, and that felt like days ago.

The last week had been full of nights like this: take-out food on the run, working until midnight, sleepless nights. Things were just so crazy, and every night she tackled the work load in hopes that this would be the night in which everything would get caught up.

At least she wasn't the only one working late on this night. After dinner, Tony had finally emerged from the basement. She heard him ascend the stairs and could feel him watching her as she talked on the phone, but she didn't turn until she hung up.

"It's about time you unearthed yourself and did some real work."

"Yeah, well, this is why I hired _you_ isn't it? To take care of the bastards who want to bother me?"

"And I am just so, so happy to do it, sir. But seeing as my name isn't Tony Stark, there are some things that I just cannot get done."

Tony smirked and moved toward her. "I'm sure there's something we could do to get that fixed." Pepper turned back to her desk, moving the files he needed to look at into one pile.

"Very funny, sir. But, we both know that isn't going to happen." By this time, Tony was so close to her that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. "And, unless you have some desire to be eviserated, you'll let it drop."

Tony conceded and moved to stand beside her, reaching out to grab the stack of papers she had made. "Is this what needs to be done?" Pepper nodded. "Give me a sec to make a drink, and I'll get started."

They worked for the next 3 hours with little disruption. Pepper was surprised that Tony actually helped her job go easier. Sure, his scotch glass was full most of the night, and his snarky comments were directed at her with their usual reliability, but he was there, and for once he was cooperating with what she needed.

As Pepper finished up the last round of emails to the distributors in China, she noticed that Tony's voice was getting steadily louder. She turned around and found him pacing the room while speaking into a headset.

"I don't care that you received your shipment late. We need the parts tomorrow… Well, that's too damn bad…I needed those two days ago… Yes, please go get your boss for me. Hopefully he can actually do your job for you…"

Pepper smiled at Tony's vernacular. He always did have a temper when things didn't go his way. She imagined the neophyte on the other end of the line trying to hold in the tears as he (yes, _he_, because Tony Stark can even reduce men to bubbling idiots when provoked) handed the phone to his boss.

Pepper figured it was just the late hour, but she couldn't help but feel a little turned on as she watched him pace across the room. He was wearing his usual home clothes, a black wife beater and black sweat pants. But, he had lost his shoes at some point during the night. As she watched his feet pad across the floor, she couldn't help but feel that there was nothing sexier than a man's feet sticking out from underneath a long pair of pants.

"Hi. What's your name?... Matt? … Well, Matthew, this is Tony Stark. Do you know who I am?...Yes…Then can you please explain to me why the parts I ordered were not only not here on Friday, like I was quoted, but why those same fucking parts aren't going to be here tomorrow like I was personally promised yesterday?"

Tony had stopped his pacing and stood facing the window. His shoulders were heaving due to his angry breathing. Pepper contemplated going over and trying to calm him down, but thought against it.

It had been a month since he had thrown that party for her on her birthday. Other than a smart comment from him that she looked like hell the next morning and that he had told her not to get wasted, nothing further was said about the evening. And nothing at all was said about that…moment at the end of the night. Pepper wanted to blame it on all of the alcohol she had drank, but she knew that wasn't the truth. Tony had finally been "just Tony", and even though it had only lasted a few minutes, she had liked it.

Liked it a little too much, to be honest, which led to her keeping a bit more distance between them than normal. She needed to get her hormones under control before she did something she would regret, so instead of going over and placing a hand on Tony's shoulder to calm him down, she finished the email she was working on and closed her laptop.

And this is when she finally rested her head in her hands. She felt as if she hadn't slept in a week and then realized it had been almost a week since she had slept more than three hours in one night. The amount of work that needed to be done was astounding. She still couldn't understand how things had gotten so far behind. She vaguely recognized that Tony had stopped speaking, but she was too tired to pay any attention.

The next thing she was cognizant of was Tony's hands resting on her shoulders.

"Hey, Pepper. Why don't we call it a night?"

Pepper moaned and struggled to turn around and face Tony. She had finally hit her limit, but she still refused to give in.

"C'Mon. It'll be okay. It's almost 1:30, and as much as I love calling people and waking them up just to yell at them, it's probably time for me to stop."

"But, there are still emails to send and memos to write, calls to make. I just don't get how we got so far behind." She almost looked afraid of him as she said this, as if she thought he was going to fire her.

"Hey. No worries. It's been a busy time." Tony grabbed her arms and pulled her out of her chair. "Now, let's get you some sleep. I'll put you up in one of the guest rooms."

Pepper stumbled as she tried to back away from him, causing him to wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from falling over.

"Nuh-uh…here we go. It works better if you're standing."

"I'm not going to sleep here, Mr. Stark."

"Well, I'm pretty sure there's some ice cream in the fridge. We can eat some while watching movies and talking about boys if you'd prefer. Although if that's the case, I must insist, again, that you call me Tony."

"Very funny, _Tony_."

"There are also a number of other activities we could do instead of sleeping." Tony raised an eyebrow and gave her his trademark grin.

"That cocky little smile isn't going to work on me, sir. I would just prefer to sleep in my own bed tonight." Pepper attempted to push him away, but between his strength and her exhaustion, it didn't work.

"Yeah, but you aren't going to." Tony led her out of the living room and into one of the guest bedrooms. He stopped at the door and let go of her. Pepper leaned against the door jam, her eyes starting to drift closed with more force after each passing second.

"There's a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants in the top drawer. I'm pretty sure I have worn them, but they're clean. Now get some sleep, and I will see you in the morning."

Pepper yawns and finally concedes that she will be staying. "Thanks Tony." She shut the door behind her and was changed, in bed, and asleep before Tony had even reached his own room.

* * *

The next morning, Pepper woke up to Jarvis telling her the time and weather. She sat up and stretched, feeling rested for the first time in a long time. She got out of bed and saw a set of clothes lying on the dresser. They weren't actually her clothes, but the sizes and styles matched what she wore on a normal work day, so she got dressed and ready for the day, finally slipping on her shoes and heading toward the kitchen for some coffee.

Pepper could hear the news playing as she walked into the kitchen and found Tony already awake and dressed, reading the paper and drinking some coffee. He didn't look up when she entered.

"Good morning, Miss Potts. There's coffee and some bagels on the counter for you."

Pepper grabbed a blueberry bagel and poured a glass of coffee before sitting down at the table next to him.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Very well, actually. Thank you for letting me stay here, Mr. Stark."

Tony folded the paper and looked at Pepper for the first time that morning. He was all ready to reprimand her for not calling him Tony, but as soon as he saw her, he bit the words back. He was relieved to see that she had more color in her face and less underneath her eyes. She worked herself way too hard, especially for an ass like himself.

"Well, I finished up the last of the calls this morning, so we should be pretty well caught up."

Pepper was surprised and knew it showed on her face when Tony started laughing.

"What? I didn't get this job just because of my father…well, at least not completely."

Tony shook his head and continued chuckling as he set his coffee mug in the sink.

"Happy's waiting, so I guess I will get going. Finish your breakfast. The meeting should go quickly. I'll meet you at the office before lunch, and we can go over a plan to keep you from getting so bogged down again."

Pepper finally snapped out of whatever reverie she had been stuck in.

"Are you sure, sir? I can come with you to the meeting if you would like."

"No. Stay here. Relax. Just make sure you leave me a bagel for later."

"Very well, sir. I will see you at the office later."

"Have a good morning Miss Potts."

"You too Mr. Stark." This time, Tony had no problems giving her his glare.

"Fine, _Tony_. Have a good meeting."

* * *

**Wow…I just finished the second chapter of a story. This is a first for me. :D**

**I know that my characters are OOC, but I guess in a way, they're supposed to be that way. I fully believe that Tony would be different towards Pepper because he does love her, even if he doesn't realize it yet.**

**If ya like it, let me know what you think by pushing that weird colored button down there. If you didn't like it, just keep on walking. :D**

**I hope to update soon, but I'm spending a lot of time job hunting, so who knows when I'll get to write again. Good news is that I have the fifth chapter almost finished. Maybe I should just change this to Third Time's the Charm. But, then that would be too expected. :)**


	3. the third time

Pepper was running late. She had scheduled a briefing for herself and Tony to make sure that they stayed on top of things this week. The meeting was scheduled at 8 a.m., and it was now…8:15. She hoped Tony wouldn't realize how late she was. Things had been friendlier than normal between the two of them these last few weeks, and Pepper could just imagine the ribbing she would receive from him as soon as she stepped into the mansion.

"You have got to be kidding me."

As she ran up the final steps to the door, Pepper's right heel teetered on the step before snapping in two. Pepper stumbled and dropped what she was carrying, including her coffee that spilled down the front of her skirt.

"Of course. As if this day could get any worse."

Pepper slipped off her shoes and gathered up everything that she dropped before quietly slipping into the house. When she didn't see Tony in the living room, she quickly ran into the kitchen, dropped her things on the counter, and reached for a towel to wash the coffee out of her skirt.

"Good morning, Miss Potts."

Pepper jumped, expecting to turn and see Tony standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face, before realizing it was only Jarvis.

"Good morning, Jarvis."

"You are later than usual this morning."

Pepper grunted as she scrubbed at the stain on her skirt.

"Traffic was insane; there was an extra long line at the coffee shop; and then my heel broke on the steps outside and I spilled the coffee I waited so long for all over my skirt."

"Hopefully the rest of the day will be better for you."

"From your artificial lips to God's ears."

Since Tony hadn't appeared while she was cleaning her skirt, Pepper assumed he was working in the basement. She took advantage of his apparent preoccupation and went to her office to drop off her things and make sure she didn't have any emails or messages that needed to be dealt with right away.

She sent a quick message to Rhodes, letting him know that they were running a bit behind, and that Tony would be late for their lunch. Then, Pepper made her way down to the basement. Because she didn't have an extra pair of shoes, Pepper walked through the house barefoot, and she reveled in the odd silence, the calm before the storm of chaos Tony always brought with him.

As usual, Pepper turned off the blaring rock music as she entered the shop. She didn't see him when she walked in, so she just stood in the doorway and waited for his reprimand to point her in his direction.

It never came.

"Tony? Tony, are you down here?"

"Mr. Stark is not here Miss Potts."

"Is he actually still in bed? Oh…did he have someone over last night?" Pepper's face went white. "Do I need to be getting someone's dry cleaning done?" It had been months since Tony had brought anyone home, and she got used to having less duties in the morning. Pepper had assumed that he had changed his ways, but maybe he was ready to get back in the game.

"No, Mr. Stark is not still in bed, and no one was here with him last night. Mr. Stark left the premises around an hour ago."

"Where did he go?" Pepper looked around the shop as if the answer would pop out at her. She noticed that Tony's computer screen was on. The screen held one of the sales receipts Pepper had downloaded off the company server months ago and a memo stating the weapons were used over the weekend. Pepper looked around and noticed the absence of suit pieces around the shop.

"Please tell me he didn't."

"Considering I was programmed to only give the facts, Miss Potts, I cannot do that. Anthony left an hour ago in the suit en route to Iran."

"Of course he did." Pepper was livid. She understood his obsession with these missions. What she didn't understand was how he could totally dismiss her and the role she had in his life, both as his assistant and as his friend.

"Jarvis, I will be in my office. Please tell Mr. Stark to meet me there when he returns."

"Certainly, Miss Potts."

* * *

Pepper spent the rest of the morning working in her office. She made phone calls and sent emails as she usually did, and she tried to ignore the feelings that were building and rolling in her stomach. Around 12:30, she heard clanging coming from downstairs. Tony was home.

A few minutes later, he walked into her office holding a glass of scotch. He was still wearing his black under armor and boots and was covered with sweat and filth, with bruises on both arms and a large gash across his left shoulder. Reminding herself that she was mad, Pepper managed to refrain from rushing to him.

"Pepper." He said her name apprehensively; as if he was afraid she would reprimand him and knowing she probably was about to.

Pepper looked at his face, finally acknowledging his entrance. She had thought she was going to ignore his missing the meeting this morning, but as soon as she took in his appearance, something snapped inside her.

"Where have you been?" Her voice was cool and detached, but Tony could see the storm brewing under her eyes.

"Iran." Tony kept it short in hopes that she would let it drop, and it looked like she was going to.

Pepper nodded and looked at him a few seconds longer, trying to decide whether or not she should push the matter. She decided against it, gathered her laptop and Blackberry in her arms and tried to quash the emotions brewing under the surface.

"We have work to do, and you need to get cleaned up. You smell like crap, and you look like hell. I'll be in the living room when you are ready."

Pepper walked past Tony toward the door but stopped when he grabbed her arm. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for whatever he was going to say with an annoyed look on her face.

Tony wasn't sure what he was thinking when he grabbed Pepper's arm. He wanted to smooth things over. He wanted to keep her from giving him that look that said she was disappointed, but that also had the detached feeling of not caring. But, in the end, he just couldn't find the right words.

"You're shorter than usual."

Pepper didn't know what she was expecting him to say, but that wasn't it. In fact, this statement seemed to bring her anger bubbling to the surface as she recalled everything she had been through that morning. So, instead of ignoring the large elephant in the room, she rounded on it, raising her voice more and more as she went.

"Yes, well, my heel broke as I was running to make our meeting on time. You know, the meeting we decided we would have each Monday morning in order to keep everything caught up. The meeting _you_ didn't show up for. The meeting you didn't even call to tell me you were going to be missing!"

Tony had dropped her arm and backed up as she began unleashing on him, but now his own temper was flaring up. He took a step toward her and gestured with the hand holding the scotch as he spoke.

"I was a little busy at the time. But next time I'll make sure to let them kill me while I call you to tell you I'm running a little bit late!"

Pepper had lost all of the control of emotions that she once had, and took another step toward him as well.

"A little bit late due to something you shouldn't have even been doing in the first place!"

At this, Tony's anger boiled over completely and he threw his glass at the wall. Pepper flinched and dropped her things as the glass smashed into a hundred pieces but she didn't back down and continued to glare at him stonily.

"Damn it, Pepper! I TOLD you. I have to do this! I have to destroy the weapons. I have to make it safe!"

"But did you have to do it this morning?"

"Are you shitting me? I know you saw my computer. They were USING them, Pepper!" Tony paced the end of the room a couple of times before turning back to her.

"God! I don't get why you are so angry! It's one meeting, and we'll have it in a couple of minutes! I'll even stay late like a good little boy if it'll make you feel better"

Pepper had been silently fuming, but his last statements had riled her up again as only he knew how, and she scoffed with an acidic edge rising into her voice.

"You don't get why I'm angry?" She was practically in tears. "You don't get why I am SO angry?"

"No! I don't get why you are _so fucking_ ANGRY!"

"I'm angry because _you_ didn't tell me you were fucking going!"

This shocked Tony into silence. He just stood there, his chest heaving as he tried to not only calm down from yelling and but also tried to fully comprehend what Pepper was saying.

Pepper was also shocked, and she stared at Tony with wide eyes. She couldn't believe she had just said that; that she had just revealed feelings she hadn't even known she was feeling herself.

Tony was quiet when he spoke, "I didn't tell you I was going." It wasn't really a question, but it also wasn't a statement.

"You didn't say anything. You didn't tell me you would be gone. You didn't tell me where you were going. I got here this morning, and you just weren't here!" The tears that had stopped after the shock of her statement started to well up in her eyes again; although, this time found them even closer to spilling over the side. She turned away from him in hopes of keeping him from noticing.

Tony started to move toward her slowly. Pepper didn't seem to notice his movements as she tried to get control herself. But, when Tony reached a hand out to touch her arm, she jerked her elbow, effectively swatting his hand away from her arm.

"No! You don't get to care about my feelings now! You didn't give a damn earlier. You didn't care when you went off on another one of your suicide missions. You didn't even tell Jarvis exactly what you were doing!"

"I didn't want to worry you." Tony was desperate to get her to understand. "I forgot all about our meeting. I thought you would go straight to the office this morning and assume that I wasn't there because I was working on the suit here."

Pepper turned back to Tony then. He had noticed the tears in her eyes before, but he was surprised to see how red and puffy they looked now. He felt a pang in his chest as he realized what had probably gone through her mind this morning.

He slowly reached toward her again and was pleased to see she didn't back away.

"I know you need to do this Tony. I don't like it, but I understand it. Just please tell me next time."

Tony grabbed her shoulders lightly. "I will; I promise." He bowed his head and ran his hands up and down her arms a couple of times. "I'm sorry," he whispered, raising his eyes to meet hers.

Pepper looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity of his words inside him. She also saw something else, something she wasn't quite sure she wanted to identify yet.

"I know you are." They stood there for another minute before the intensity became too much for her. Pepper gave him a crooked, wry smile.

"You know, I wasn't lying earlier when I said you smelled."

Tony laughed, took his hands from her arms, and stepped away.

"You know, I've found that some girls like the masculine scent of a man who works."

"Masculine scent? Yes. The smell of B.O. mixed with week-old gym socks? Not so much."

"Touché." Tony walked toward the door, stopping briefly to pick up her things off the floor and set them on her desk.

"I'll go take a shower and meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

Tony walked out of the room, leaving Pepper to grab her things and take them downstairs.

She set everything up in the living room, and settled herself on the couch, preparing to finish the day's work. Instead, she spent the next few minutes staring at the screen, lost in her thoughts.

At this same time, one floor up, Tony had finally taken off his putrid under armor. He started the shower and stepped in, but he too spent the next few minutes standing, staring, and thinking.

They had both noticed the shift in their relationship that day, and they were both wondering the same thing:

_What was that? And what happens now?_

* * *

A/N: And there's the third time Tony and Pepper don't kiss. The end result wasn't exactly what I had imagined in the beginning, and I'm still not sure about it, but, at least it has moved things where they needed to be moved. Also, I've never written an argument before. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I hope that I did them justice. And if not, hopefully you're like me and can fill in the blanks in your mind.

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has read, and an even bigger thanks to everyone who has reviewed. This is my first real, honest foray into the fiction-writing world, and it's nice to know what people think.

The kiss is getting closer. I think the next chapter will be up soon, but I haven't started the actual writing of it yet, so I can't make any promises.


	4. the fourth time

******A/N: I am SO sorry this took so long. My muse just wasn't cooperating. But, I took my dad to see Indy and Iron Man at the drive-in for Father's Day and inspiration struck.. I don't really think it's worth the wait, but I'm just so happy it's finally finished!**

* * *

"Um, Tony…what are you doing?"

It was a little after 6 p.m. on a Tuesday. Pepper knew Tony didn't have any functions or events that evening, so when she walked into his living room, she expected to find him sprawled on the couch watching T.V. Instead, he was messing around with a multi-colored box.

"I am preparing to give you the education you should have gotten ages ago."

Tony held up the lid of the box.

"_Operation_?"

Pepper walked over to him and looked at the funny looking guy painted on the game.

"First of all, you had no idea what I was talking about all those months ago when I mentioned this game, and that is just wrong. Also, I'm working on a new design for the reactor that'll work with Rhodey's suit as well, and let's be honest, you need to improve your skills."

"Now that is not fair! You just sprung it on me last time…and there was puss…and it smelled..."

Tony set the game lid on the table and raised his eyebrow. Pepper held up her hand before he could say anything.

"Oh shut up! You know what I mean!"

"Come on Potts! We're done with work for the day." Tony sat down and pulled a pouty face while bouncing a little in his seat. "Play with me!"

Pepper shook her head at his antics, but smiled all the same.

"Fine, don't get your iron panties in a twist. I'll play with you."

Pepper slipped off her shoes and settled in next to Tony on the couch. She rested her chin on his shoulder as she looked over at the game.

"So what's this all about?"

"Well, it's called Operation…so you operate." Tony turned his head, found her face inches from his own, and turned quickly back to the game.

"Your goal is to take all of these little white things out of their holes without touching the metal sides."

Tony leaned forward to pick up the forceps, effectively getting Pepper's chin off his shoulder. She couldn't help but wonder if he did this on purpose. Then she wondered why she even cared.

"These are what you use to pick up the pieces."

Pepper scooted forward on the couch and reached for the pinchers. Tony moved them farther from her reach.

"Don't get in such a hurry. It's not as easy as it sounds. Look at your record already. You managed to shock me with a wire that was a hell of a lot smaller in a hole that was a hell of a lot larger."

"Just let me have them."

Pepper reached forward and snatched them out of Tony's grasp, pointedly ignoring the laughing look on his face as he waited for her to fail.

Pepper settled in over the board, trying to determine which piece she should try for first. She figured the butterfly was as good a piece as any and slowly lowered her hand to pick them up.

Tony scooted closer to her. Pepper could feel his breath on her ear, but she tried to ignore it. She grabbed the piece with no problem, but as she went to pull it out…

BUZZZZZ!!

Pepper jumped and dropped the forceps. She also collided heads with Tony.

"God, Pepper!" Tony exclaimed as he held the side of his head.

"I'm sorry! But you shouldn't have been so close to me in the first place."

"Well, how was I to know a little buzz was going to give you a seizure?"

"I didn't know it was going to do that!" Pepper slapped his arm. "You didn't tell me!"

"What did you expect? It did the same thing when you touched the side of mine with the wire. Course, that hurt a lot more. But still...same principle!"

Pepper had brought herself up to full height in preparation for another comeback, but as his words registered, she shrank back down.

Tony saw the pain and guilt flash quickly across her eyes and quickly tried to assuage the situation before she got to feeling too down on herself.

"Hey! No big! There was a little pain, but then there's such a rush afterward. It's my new anti-drug!" Tony smiled his most charming smile. "Now come on. You need to get that butterfly out of there, or your patient is going to die."

Pepper looked at him for another second before turning back to the game. It took her four tries, but she eventually got the butterfly out of the guy's stomach without touching the sides.

"Well, I'm pretty sure your patient is dead by now, but at least he doesn't have that nervous feeling in his stomach anymore."

Pepper shot Tony another glare, but he deflected it easily.

"Hey! I'm sure having a dead patient will make the rest of them easier for you."

"Oh no. You don't get to just sit there and laugh at me all night." Pepper shoved the tweezers into his hand with a smirk. "We're taking turns. That's how 'games' work, isn't it?"

"Oooh…we have feisty Pepper tonight. I'm liking it! And I'll take your challenge, but I have to warn you: I used to play this game all the time when I was a kid."

Tony picked up the tweezers and quickly removed the Charlie horse from the patient's body. He looked up at a dismayed Pepper and threw the horse on the table with a smile and cocky laugh.

"You should have flashed me some cleavage or something, Potts, because that's the only way you're gonna be beating me tonight."

Pepper said nothing and instead focused on getting the pail of water out of the patient's knee. She took her time and got it out on the first try.

"Whoo-hoo!"

Pepper let go of all of her inhibitions and stood up and danced, waving her arms above her head and shaking her hips. She sat back down with a smug look on her face as she took in Tony's laughing face.

"This game's not over yet! Your turn _Iron Man_!"

They spent the next hour taking turns removing the pieces from the game. It turned out Tony wasn't as perfect as he thought he was. When you added that with how quickly Pepper caught on, you got a lot of mumbled curses from Tony and more dancing from Pepper.

Finally, they came to the final piece and the final turn. Pepper was up and she had to remove the broken heart. Tony had left the piece for her since it was one of the easier ones to remove, but she had steadily avoided it because of the symbolism the piece held in her mind.

Pepper hesitated briefly before leaning in. She removed the piece perfectly and let out a sigh of relief as she laid it down on the table.

"Well, Pepper, I'm impressed. I guess you really are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. The piece in my chest should be no problem for you."

With the game over, Pepper settled back into the couch. She tried to smile at what Tony had said, but playing the game had brought out concerns she had long tried to keep under wraps. She looked at Tony soberly.

"Did it hurt . . . does it hurt?"

Tony turned his body on the couch so he was facing her completely, his smile fading. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he took time coming up with an answer he thought she could handle.

"Does it hurt? Not at all. I'm used to it now." He absently tapped on the chest plate. "Did it hurt? It was surgery in a cave, Pepper. I'm pretty sure all I had was some chloroform to knock me out. I remember bits and pieces of sounds and lights, but the pain knocked me out again almost immediately."

Pepper nodded but said nothing. This was the first time he had really talked about what had happened over there. She wanted to ask more but was afraid he would close off again. It seemed Tony understood what she was going through. He sat there watching her, waiting for her to say the words he could see forming behind her eyes.

"You've changed so much."

Tony's eyes widened slightly. This wasn't what he expected her to say, and he thought for a long time before answering.

"I was imprisoned with a man named Yinsen. He's the one who performed the surgery and saved my life. Apparently, I had met him before, but I didn't remember him at all. I barely even remembered the convention he spoke of; I was so drunk that night."

Tony stopped there and closed his eyes. Pepper reached out took his hands in hers, silently urging him to continue. As curious as she was, she also had a feeling that talking about it would help him.

"He had a family when I had nothing. Sure, I had everything, the cars, the money, the…girls, but none of it was really real. Yinsen died helping me escape. The last thing he said to me was 'don't waste it.' This amazing man who I had basically helped to kill was rooting for me to make something out of my life. And since I've been back, that's what I've been trying to do."

Pepper's eyes were filled with tears, and she had to swallow past the lump in her throat before she could speak.

"You've been doing a good job."

They both held on to the other's hands a bit tighter as they sat in the quiet living room, alternately looking into each others' eyes and then looking anywhere but. The elephant that had appeared that morning after his mission was back. Now it was simply a case of who would acknowledge its presence first.

"Is that really the only way you remember that night?"

Pepper had been staring at the discarded Operation game and started at the quiet sound of his voice. She looked up to find him looking at her intently. She was shocked to see that Tony's walls were completely down, and that the emotion she was so scared of identifying so long ago was even more prominent than she could ever imagine.

She sat there, staring at Tony for what felt like hours but was really barely a minute. Then finally, she knew what she had to do.

Pepper took a deep breath and shook her head, deciding that if he could put himself out there, she could as well.

Tony let out the breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He noticed a stray tear running down her left cheek and reached up to wipe it off. But, instead of removing his hand, he simply shifted it so it cupped her cheek, his thumb rubbing lightly under her eye.

Pepper's pupils widened at his movement, but she didn't move away from his touch. Tony leaned in slowly toward her shaking lips. He kept his eyes locked on hers, looking for any sign that this wasn't okay.

"Sir." Jarvis' voice rang loudly through the living room.

Tony closed his eyes and spoke quickly in hopes that this wouldn't completely ruin whatever was about to happen.

"Whatever it is, it can wait, Jarvis."

"Unfortunately it cannot, sir. Intelligence has just come through that a Jericho missile has been used against U.S. troops in Iraq. The camps are still under heavy fire."

Tony let out a sharp breath and turned his head to the side. This was all it took for Pepper to give into her fears and walk unsteadily across the room. She stood resting her hands on the side of the bar, her head falling down a bit.

She took a deep, shaky breath, but her words came out smooth and calm.

"You need to go." It wasn't a question.

"I need to go."

She turned around then. Her face was resolute, but Tony noticed the shine of tears on her cheeks. The sight of her sadness nearly broke his heart. He wished he knew the exact reason for it, but he couldn't afford to take the time to find out.

Instead, he stood up and slowly crossed the room toward her. Pepper looked as if she wanted to say something, but the words never came.

"I'll be careful."

Tony whispered those words as he stopped in front of her, and before he could even think about what he was about to do, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Then he gave her hand a quick squeeze, smiled at her and rushed downstairs to change into the suit.

Pepper stayed standing right where he left her, leaning against the bar and staring at where he had disappeared.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter got a little deep, which I've never really written before, so I hope it turned out okay. And before you say it, this is 4 times THEY don't kiss. Him kissing her doesn't count since it wasn't reciprocated. Also, I was just desperate for a little something sweet from Tony.**

**I was almost done with the last chapter, but since I changed this one, I have more to change in that one. I still hope to get it done by the end of the week though. Thanks again for reading, and if you feel the urge, click that button down there and let me know what you think. :D**


	5. the fifth time

**A/N: This is my first chaptered fic, and I can't believe the response I've gotten. Thanks to everyone who has read, and especially to everyone who has reviewed. I'm beginning to think I should have made this Third Time's the Charm cause then there wouldn't be as much anticipation. Hopefully it can at least meet some of your expectations.**

**Couple of quick notes: This is kinda like 3 chapters in one. Tony and Pepper kept doing more thinking and less kissing, and since I kinda like what came out of it, I decided to keep it all in. Also, I'm not completely sure my timeline is exactly right, so just keep in mind that Tony leaves around 8 p.m. and doesn't return until well after the sun has risen the next morning.  
**

**And now I'll shut up, let you read, and hide in the corner with my fingers crossed.**

* * *

_Previously…_

"_You need to go." It wasn't a question._

"_I need to go."_

_She turned around then. Her face was resolute, but Tony noticed the shine of tears on her cheeks. The sight of her sadness nearly broke his heart. He wished he knew the exact reason for it, but he couldn't afford to take the time to find out._

_Instead, he stood up and slowly crossed the room toward her. Pepper looked as if she wanted to say something, but the words never came._

"_I'll be careful."_

_Tony whispered those words as he stopped in front of her, and before he could even think about what he was about to do, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead._

_Then he gave her hand a quick squeeze, smiled at her and rushed downstairs to change into the suit._

* * *

Pepper tried her hardest to ignore the CNN report being projected in Tony's basement lab. Of course, her constant glances to the screen every time she heard his name or saw a glimpse of the color red made this task extremely difficult to accomplish.

Tony had been missing, actually _missing_, for almost eight hours. He had left quickly after finding out the Jericho missile had been used on U.S. troops. And now Pepper was officially scared.

_Eight hours earlier_

Pepper stood in that same spot by the bar and stared at the same spot on the stairs down to the lab for almost 20 minutes before she finally snapped out of the haze she had gotten lost in. It did her no good to dwell now. She considered going home, but she knew there was no way she could be away from here while Tony was off saving the world and most likely getting hurt in the process.

Instead, Pepper headed upstairs to the suite that Tony had designated as hers. She took a shower and changed into a t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants. She grabbed the book she had left there the week before, Barack Obama's _The Audacity of Hope_, and headed back down to the living room to read. Pepper stayed there for almost two hours, learning the plans Obama had for the country and trying to decide whether or not he was full of it, before Jarvis interrupted her.

"Miss Potts, a situation has risen concerning Mr. Stark."

Pepper's head snapped up from her book. She tried to reply, but could not find the breath to do so. Instead, she waited with dread for the A.I. to deliver the news that Tony was dead.

"It seems that I can no longer make contact with him."

Pepper let out the breath she had been holding, feeling relieved when she didn't hear the words 'killed' or 'dead.' Then, her eyes widened as what Jarvis had said registered in her mind.

"What do you mean you can no longer make contact? I thought Tony uploaded you into the suit."

"I do not know the exact circumstance, ma'am, but the suit has been damaged so that my upload can no longer communicate with me."

"Oh."

Pepper sat in silence for a moment. She was having trouble breathing, and part of her wanted nothing more than to start crying, hyperventilating, freaking out, something. But, no matter what had transpired between them that evening, she was still Tony's assistant, and she needed to keep a level head.

"Well, I'm sure he's fine. But, will you please call Colonel Rhodes and brief him on the situation?"

"Certainly, Miss Potts."

Pepper felt Jarvis figuratively leave her, and she rested her arms on her knees and her head on her arms. She tried to control her breathing and convince herself Tony was indeed fine. The only small comfort she found was the fact that Tony had said he would be careful, and he obviously hadn't done so.

But that kiss hadn't been a goodbye. It had been a promise to return soon, and even when he had been at his worst, Tony never lied to her. He could be a jerk, a ruthless ass, but she believed he wouldn't leave her like that. She _had_ to believe it.

She didn't know how long she sat bent over, but eventually, a sharp pain in her neck required her to sit up straight. Reading her book was out of the question now, so Pepper grabbed her laptop and carried it to the basement. She wanted to be there when he returned.

Pepper settled onto the small beat up couch Tony kept in his workshop. It was the rattiest thing Tony owned, but it was also the most comfortable, and Pepper felt a little better as she sank down into the cushions.

She had planned on getting some work done; getting some files organized and cleaned up on her hard drive. But, she soon found herself simply staring at the screen, something that had been occurring with an increasing frequency those days.

Pepper didn't want to admit it, but the happenings of the night had unnerved her. She wasn't an idiot; she had noticed the subtle changes between them lately, but she didn't expect all of that to happen at once. What had started out as a night of fun and games had turned serious so fast, she didn't know what she felt about it, or how she should handle it.

So she sat. And stared. And thought, mostly about how the move to his workshop might not have been the best idea, as every sound made her look toward the tunnel to see if it was him coming through it.

Pepper turned on the news for noise, but that soon proved to be a bad idea as well. Somehow, the media had caught wind of Tony going AWOL, and there was a crowd of reporters outside the gates to the house at that moment. Pepper tried to ignore the reporting, but every time she heard the words Tony, Stark, or Iron, she looked up so fast, it caused a crick in her neck.

Pepper knew she needed to calm down. There was nothing more she could do, but still her mind and heart kept racing. As the first hint of light shone through the small windows in the basement, she finally lost it.

The tears came slowly at first, a few tears she could swipe away quickly as she worked, but they soon turned into a stream steady enough that she could no longer make out the words on her screen. She finally set her laptop aside and gave into all of the fear, confusion, and tiredness she felt, allowing sobs to wrench her body as she yelled up to God knows where:

"You can't do this to me Tony! You hear me? You need to come back now. You are my best friend, and I just can't do this without you! Please, Tony! Please!"

"He can't hear you Miss Potts," said Jarvis after a moment, as apologetically as possible for a computer.

"I know, Jarvis," Pepper replied quietly, as she fell back against the couch. "I know."

Her yelling and crying had finally wore her out. She laid down on the couch and allowed her sobs to slowly die down, eventually falling asleep as a few tears still ran down her face.

Pepper slept fitfully. She dreamed countless dreams, and Tony was the center of all of them. He was there playing Operation with her. He was there smiling at her on her birthday. He was even there just being a snarky ass.

Eventually, the bad dreams came. Pepper saw Tony lying in the sand, alone and broken. She saw herself wandering his mansion for what felt like forever, also alone and broken.

And then she had the oddest dream of all. She was lying in bed with Tony. They were lying on top of the covers, and they were both fully clothed. They were just staring at each other with one pair of their hands clasped together between them.

After lying there without moving or speaking for so long, Tony gave her a soft smile and began stroking the side of her face.

"Pepper," Tony said softly.

Pepper smiled back at him and said his name.

"Pepper, wake up," said Tony. "Come on, Pepper."

Pepper realized this wasn't her dream speaking to her, and slowly opened her eyes. Tony was crouched in front of her with one hand on the side of her face. He was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood, and still wearing his under armor.

"Tony."

* * *

_Oh this is just swell…really…terrific._

Tony was falling through the air in Iraq. He had just been hit by one of his missiles; The Chaparral if he was feeling correctly. Of course, since he didn't test the weapons on himself, he couldn't be completely sure, but he could be sure that it hurt like hell.

"You've been hit, sir," Jarvis' voice rang through his ears.

"Well no shit, Sherlock. Why don't we focus more on keeping me in the air and less on stating the obvious."

"That is the problem Mr. Stark." Said Jarvis, his voice crackling and fading. "I seem to be losing the ability to comm…."

"Damn it."

Tony shot off a missile of his own at the bastards that shot at him and then focused on trying to stop his free fall through the desert sky. He managed to maintain enough power to keep himself from smashing into the earth, but just barely.

It was dark, but the temperature on the desert floor was still hot as Tony lied there, gasping for breath and unable to move. He performed a quick mental inventory of his injuries. The pain was excruciating, but it didn't seem as if anything was broken.

"Pepper is going to kill me."

And with those words, Tony gave into the pain and passed out.

He came to with sand blowing into his mouth and up his nose. He sat up with a start, spluttering and spitting, before realizing he probably shouldn't have done that so fast. He fell back on his arms and closed his eyes against the dizzying pain. When he caught his balance, he tried again to get his suit to work.

"Jarvis…Jarvis…come on you hunk of junk"

Jarvis never responded.

"Shit."

Luckily, Tony had fashioned some small tools into the side of the suit after a malfunction during his last mission. After an hour of tinkering, the suit was working, and the computer was back online, for the most part. Tony could receive information; he just couldn't send anything. But, it was enough for him to get home, and for that he was relieved.

As Tony took to the skies, he tapped into a few of the U.S. news broadcasts. It was then that he realized he had been incommunicado for almost eight hours. It was also then that he found out the media had gotten wind of his disappearance, and apparently had been having a field day at his expense. The small screen showed a group of reporters gathered outside of his mansion.

"Pepper."

Tony couldn't imagine the hell she had to be going through. While he hoped that she hadn't felt the need to stay at his place to wait for him, in a way he kind of hoped she had. There would be no way to keep the reporters from her at her apartment. At least at his mansion, there were gates and a mean A.I.

Then he thought of how she must be feeling. No matter where she was, there was no way she was sleeping through it all. He couldn't help but hope that she was scared for him, as cocky as that sounded. She was the only person who had ever stuck with him, and the only person who he had wanted to stick with him, and desperately he wanted her to feel the same.

The night had started out so innocently. He had just wanted to teach her how to play Operation, have a little fun after a hard day's work. When the mood had shifted, he had been apprehensive, but he had accepted it. Things had changed between them lately; even being the ass that he was, Tony could tell that.

And when she had shook her head after he asked if that was really how she remembered that night? Tony had been ready and willing to take the next step. But then those damn bastards had to go and use his weapons.

All Tony could think of was getting back to Pepper. He needed to know what she was thinking and where they stood. Yes, she had run away from him at Jarvis' interruption, but she hadn't castrated him when he kissed her forehead, and that had to count for something.

Tony stayed lost in his thoughts the rest of the trip back home. He didn't see her when he arrived, and he assumed she either had actually gone home or was sleeping upstairs. Tony hurried to get the battered suit off.

"Welcome back sir. It's been a long time."

Tony winced as the robots removed the last piece of his suit. He took a quick inventory of his injuries and appearance. As in the desert, everything was sore. He had cuts all up the left side of his body, including his face, but it didn't seem anything was broken, and except for the shortness of breath, he felt as if all of his internal organs were okay as well.

"Where is she?"

"Miss Potts is sleeping on the other side of the lab on your couch. It has been quite the night for her."

"Thank you Jarvis. That will be all. Just lock the place down."

"Will do, sir."

Tony slowly walked--okay, limped--around his work desk towards the couch on the other end of the lab. His breath caught in his throat as soon as he saw her.

Pepper was curled in the fetal position, with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She was shaking, and her face was blotchy, as if she had been crying.

"Oh, Pepper"

Tony crouched down by her head, and softly brushed the hair away from her face. She titled her head toward his hand and moaned.

"Pepper."

Pepper smiled and murmured his own name back to him.

"Pepper, wake up," said Tony softly, still stroking the side of her face. "Come on, Pepper."

She stirred then. Her eyes slowly opened, first her right, and then her left. When she took in the sight of him, dirty, bloody, and sweaty, her eyes widened.

"Tony."

* * *

Tony and Pepper just stared at each other for a moment. He could see the shock in her eyes, as well as a small bit of skepticism. She searched his face, willing him to really be there, for this to not be a dream.

Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her up off the couch and into his arms. Both of them still said nothing, just reveling in the feeling of the other's arms around them.

Tony felt an insurmountable sense of happiness well up in his chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist. This was where he belonged. He didn't know how they would handle everything, but he knew they had to. He couldn't give this up.

Pepper also felt at home in his arms. She couldn't help but still be nervous about what all of this meant, and she could not figure out an easy way to make everything work, but she didn't care. This was the one thing she couldn't plan, and at that moment in time, she was just so happy he was alive.

Pepper began to cry. She tried to hide it at first, but Tony heard the sniffles.

"Hey. What's this," said Tony, pulling away from her and tilting her face towards his. "I'm fine. See," he said, spreading his arms wide. "These cuts and bruises are nothing. A few Advil and I'll be as good as new in the morning."

"It's not that," Pepper replied, sniffling. "Although, you aren't fooling me by favoring your left leg. I was just so worried."

Tony looked at her intently then.

"Hey, what did I tell you? You're all I've got. I'm not going to leave you, especially since I know I'm all you've got too."

Pepper looked up at him and decided to let everything go; the time for fear and nervousness was gone. She leaned toward him, just as she did that night so long ago. But this time was different. This time, Tony leaned forward as well.

Their lips met softly, and their eyes locked. They pulled back slightly, and Tony looked at her questioningly. Pepper smiled, and Tony snaked his right hand around her neck and pulled her lips back to his. Pepper closed her eyes and lost herself in the kiss as she ran her hands up his arms. It wasn't a hard kiss. It wasn't overly passionate, full of grasping and swooning. It was just them sharing something soft and kind, a light promise of kisses yet to come.

Tony broke the kiss first. He couldn't stop the large smile from crossing his face as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you, you know."

Pepper smiled at his casual delivery of that statement. She knew it took a lot for him to be able to admit that, but she also knew it wasn't a profound declaration of his love for her. It was simply a statement of fact; a shallow, yet completely heartfelt, confirmation of the affection he had for her. An affection she shared as well.

"I love you, too, Tony."

Pepper reached up and gave him a quick kiss before taking a step away from him.

"Now, we need to get you to bed. You've had a long night. Go ahead upstairs and get cleaned up. I'll cancel your meetings today and do something about the reporters outside."

Pepper started to walk toward the stairs, but Tony grabbed her wrist.

"Pepper, you need to get some sleep as well."

Pepper turned around, and Tony's forehead crinkled with concern when he noticed the dark bags under her eyes. He held up a hand when she opened her mouth.

"No. You can't call what you were doing when I got back sleeping. You need a real bed, with a pillow and a blanket."

Pepper opened her mouth again to argue, but closed it at the look he gave her. She stared at him defiantly for a few seconds before finally giving in. She walked silently to the door to the lab and held it open for him to walk through. He did, but then he stopped at the foot of the stairs and waited for her. He grabbed her hand, and together they made their way slowly through the house to his bedroom.

Tony looked at her cautiously as he pushed the door open, but she smiled and squeezed his hand. Pepper wasn't sure exactly who needed the company more, but she knew they both needed to be together right then.

Pepper settled into his bed while he took a shower and changed. She had expected to feel more scared at what was happening, but it felt normal. This was simply the next logical step in their relationship, and she was willing to let it happen.

Tony stepped out of his bathroom and saw Pepper already lying on her side in his bed. He smiled at the sight and at how right this all felt. She was the only one he could imagine sleeping with in the strictest sense of the phrase.

He climbed into the bed slowly and whispered at Jarvis so as not to wake her.

"Jarvis, windows."

The room went dark, and Tony slid closer to Pepper. He wrapped his arm around her waist and felt her scoot back toward him. He slid his leg between hers, and she entwined her fingers with his.

Tony kissed the back of her head.

"I love you."

"I love you."

And Pepper and Tony slept peacefully for the first time in months. They knew there would be many things to figure out when they awoke, but at that time, they were simply content with being together; being where they belong; being home.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there ya have it. I'm sure some (and probably all) of you were expecting some huge, grandiose expression of love, and I honestly was too at first. But, that's not what these characters let me do. I hope it still worked for you and that you aren't too disappointed.**

**Also, I'm thinking of continuing on in this little IM universe I've created. I started writing fanfic because I have an idea for a novel, and my fiction writing is pretty rusty. But, now I'm kind of liking what I created, and I think we need some more fics with Tony and Pepper as an actual couple. I'd also kind of like to explore this different kind of relationship these two have gotten themselves into. I haven't really decided yet.  
**

**I guess all that's left is one last request: If you liked it, push the button down there and let me know. If you didn't like it, well that's your prerogative. (and now I'm gonna have that flipping song stuck in my head smacks forehead)**

**thanks y'all :D**


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